Tag: Home Office

Thank you very much to all of you for being here today.

Nothing is more important than keeping children safe. Those who would hurt children are relentless in their efforts and never stop looking for new opportunities to satisfy their depraved perversions.

So it’s vital that we stay ahead of them.

Advancements in technology have led to major, even revolutionary benefits to society.

In particular, Artificial Intelligence can be a powerful tool for good, with immense opportunity to grow the global economy, deliver better public services, and tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.

However, whilst such technologies have enabled us to enhance our livelihoods and our societies, they also pose significant risks with their misuse for criminal purposes – one of which is the sexual abuse of children.

As Home Secretary, I continue to champion efforts across the UK and internationally to bear down on the threat posed to our children.

AI presents a huge risk, but also an opportunity to tackle child sexual abuse.

This month I visited the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, with my counterpart at the Department for Homeland Security, Secretary Mayorkas, and saw first-hand the abhorrent material being generated right now.

In the UK, the Internet Watch Foundation is a critical partner in our efforts to eradicate child sexual abuse online. They said recently that they have begun to see AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery.

I am very grateful to the Internet Watch Foundation for your tireless efforts to ensure that the images and videos of children being abused are removed from the internet.

I’m very pleased that you have joined me as partners on this important event today.

Generative AI poses a particular risk, because it provides child sexual abusers with the capability to produce unprecedented quantities of life-like child sexual abuse imagery.

We will hear shortly in more detail about the impact that this will have on our collective ability to respond to online abuse. It will only make the internet a more dangerous place.

Now is our opportunity – which we simply must seize – to ensure that these risks do not materialise.

Only through collective joint action that harnesses our combined expertise, resources, and knowledge can we ensure that appropriate safety measures are put in place.

Later in this session, the Policing Minister will lead a discussion with leading experts and voices from across the tech industry, safety tech sector, and law enforcement.

This will explore the innovation required to ensure appropriate safety measures are in place, and how AI can also be utilised as a force for good, including in tackling child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Inevitably, AI does not respect borders. That’s why international action and cooperation is so vital.

As a global leader in tackling child sexual abuse, the UK is uniquely placed to bring the world together to ensure that AI is built safely and securely so the huge benefits can be enjoyed by all.

With countries coming from different starting points and with different perspectives, we have to find a way to come to a shared understanding of the risks posed by AI, and the need to test and monitor them.

We also need to collaborate on safety research and highlight the shared best practice for AI developers internationally.

So I’m delighted to see so many different organisations represented here today.

This is just the start of the conversation, and the UK Government wants to continue working collaboratively with you over the next few weeks and months on these issues.

And I hope that we can speak as one voice with the joint statement we have prepared – which will send an unequivocal message that AI must be a force for good, and not a threat to children.

Thank you.

Tech giants including Tiktok, Snapchat and Stability AI have all signed a pledge vowing to tackle the despicable rise of AI-generated child sexual abuse images at an event hosted by the Home Secretary Suella Braverman today (30 October).

Charities, tech firms, academics and international government representatives all gathered to focus on how to tackle the threat of child sexual abuse material generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) after data from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) showed that thousands of images depicting the worst kind of abuse could be found on the dark web and is realistic enough to be treated as real imagery under UK law.

At the event, hosted in partnership with the IWF and taking place in the lead up to the government’s AI Safety Summit, the Home Secretary addressed attendees, many of which have come together to sign a statement pledging to cooperate to mitigate the spread of AI-generated images depicting children being abused.

The government is also exploring further investment into the use of AI to combat child sexual abuse, and will continue to examine potential options for innovation to tackle the threat from AI generated child sexual abuse material.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:

“Child sexual abuse images generated by AI are an online scourge. This is why tech giants must work alongside law enforcement to clamp down on their spread. The pictures are computer-generated but they often show real people – it’s depraved and damages lives.

“The pace at which these images have spread online is shocking and that’s why we have convened such a wide group of organisations to tackle this issue head-on. We cannot let this go on unchecked.”

The IWF has warned that the increased availability of this imagery not only poses a real risk to the public by normalising sexual violence against children, but some of the imagery is also based on children who have appeared in ‘real’ child sexual abuse material in the past. This means innocent survivors of traumatic abuse are being revictimized.

The surge in AI-generated images could also slow law enforcement agencies from tracking down and identifying victims of child sexual abuse, and detecting offenders and bringing them to justice.

Signatories to the joint statement, including tech giants like TikTok, Snapchat and Stability AI, have pledged to sustain “technical innovation around tackling child sexual abuse in the age of AI”. The statement affirms that AI must be developed in “a way that is for the common good of protecting children from sexual abuse across all nations”.

Statistics released by the IWF last week showed that in a single month, they investigated more than 11,000 AI images which had been shared on a dark web child abuse forum. Almost 3,000 of these images were confirmed to breach UK law – meaning they depicted child sexual abuse.

Some of the images are based on celebrities, whom AI has ‘de-aged’ and are then depicted being abused. There are even images which are based on entirely innocuous images of children posted online, which AI has been able to ‘nudify’.

Susie Hargreaves OBE, Chief Executive of the IWF, said:

“We first raised the alarm about this in July. In a few short months, we have seen all our worst fears about AI realised.

“The realism of these images is astounding, and improving all the time. The majority of what we’re seeing is now so real, and so serious, it would need to be treated exactly as though it were real imagery under UK law.

“It is essential, now, we set an example and stamp out the abuse of this emerging technology before it has a chance to fully take root. It is already posing significant challenges. It is great to see the Prime Minister acknowledge the threat posed by the creation of child sexual abuse images in his speech last week following the publication of our report.

“We are delighted the government has listened to our calls to make this a top international priority ahead of the AI summit, and are grateful to the Home Secretary for convening such a powerful discussion.”

Chris Farrimond, Director of Threat Leadership at the National Crime Agency (NCA), said:

“We are starting to see realistic images and videos of child sexual abuse created using Artificial Intelligence, and an exponential growth in offenders discussing how to use it to generate images of real children.

“We know that as AI technologies mature and become more widely applied, they will create opportunities for offenders. But there will also be new opportunities for law enforcement and technology platforms to take action that protects children and aids identification of their abusers.

“That is why the NCA is bringing together international law enforcement and industry partners at the Virtual Global TaskForce in Washington next month. It is vital that all of our combined creativity, skills and resources are being utilised to protect our most vulnerable.

“We estimate that there are 680,000 to 830,000 adults in the UK (1.3% to 1.6% of the adult population) that pose some degree of sexual risk to children, which is why tackling child sexual abuse is a priority for the NCA and our policing partners. We will investigate and prosecute individuals who create, share, possess, access or view AI generated child sexual abuse material in the same way as if the image is of a real child.”

Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said:

“AI is being developed at such speed that it’s vital the safety of children is considered explicitly and not as an afterthought in the wake of avoidable tragedy.

“Already we are seeing AI child abuse imagery having a horrific impact on children, traumatising and retraumatising victims who see images of their likeness being created and shared. This technology is giving offenders new ways to organise and risks enhancing their ability to groom large numbers of victims with ease.

“It was important to see child safety on the agenda today. Further international and cross-sector collaboration will be crucial to achieve safety by design.”

The government also recognises that AI can be a powerful tool for good and the Home Secretary emphasised at the event that AI also poses opportunities to improve the way we tackle child sexual abuse. Together with the police and other partners, the Home Office has developed the world-leading Child Abuse Image Database (CAID), which is already using AI to grade the severity of child sexual abuse material.

The AI tool helps police officers sort through large volumes of data at a faster pace, bringing certain images to the surface for the officer to focus on to aid investigations. This enables officers to more rapidly identify and safeguard children, as well as identify offenders. These tools also support the welfare of officers, as they reduce prolonged exposure to these images. Other tools are also in development which will use AI to safeguard children and identify perpetrators more quickly.

While the opportunities posed in this space are promising, AI is advancing much quicker than anyone could have realised.

Without appropriate safety measures that keep pace with its development, this technology still poses significant risks, and that is why the Home Secretary is placing an emphasis on working constructively with a wide range of partners to mitigate these risks and ultimately, protect the public.

This week, the UK is hosting the first ever major global AI Safety Summit at the start of November at Bletchley Park.

The summit will turbocharge global action on the safe and responsible development of frontier AI around the world – bringing together key nations, technology companies, researchers, and civil society groups.

Police should double the number of searches they make using retrospective facial recognition technology to track down known offenders by May 2024, as the Policing Minister urges forces to increase their use of this artificial intelligence (AI) crime-fighting tool.

In a letter to police chiefs, Chris Philp has set out the importance of police harnessing the benefits of innovative technologies to support them in preventing and solving crimes, as well as to keep pace with the changing nature of criminal activity.

He notes that with a concerted effort from all forces in England and Wales, it will be possible to exceed 200,000 searches of still images against the Police National Database by early summer using facial recognition technology, which will help to catch perpetrators and keep our streets safe.

The minister also encourages the police to operate live facial recognition more widely. This state-of-the-art technology captures live footage of crowds and compares it with a watch list of suspects wanted by the police, who pose harm to others. When there is a match, an alert will go out to nearby police officers. Not only does this allow police to quickly identify suspects in a dense crowd, it can also have a strong deterrent effect.

AI technology, such as facial recognition, can help the police quickly and accurately identify those wanted for serious crimes, as well as missing people. It also frees up police time and resources, meaning more officers can be out on the beat, engaging with communities and carrying out complex investigations.

Police use a range of other AI programmes to support their role in keeping the public safe, including those which help speed up the investigation of digital evidence, redaction of evidence files and tools which undertake back-office tasks, freeing up officers’ time.

Crime and Policing Minister Chris Philp said:

AI technology is a powerful tool for good, with huge opportunities to advance policing and cut crime. We are committed to making sure police have the systems they need to solve and prevent crimes, bring offenders to justice, and protect the public.

Facial recognition, including live facial recognition, has a sound legal basis that has been confirmed by the courts and has already enabled a large number of serious criminals to be caught, including for murder and sexual offences.

This is not about acquiring new kit and deploying new tech for the sake of it; it is about staying one step ahead of criminals; delivering smarter, more effective policing and, ultimately, making our streets safer.”

We know these technologies work in catching criminals. Craig Walters was jailed for life in 2021 after attacking a woman he followed off a bus. He was arrested within 48 hours of the incident thanks to South Wales Police using CCTV footage to identify him. A murder suspect in Coventry was apprehended after images, taken by a member of the public in a nightclub where the incident occurred, were matched to a known individual.

It is also being used to tackle shoplifting, with the Retail Crime Action Plan setting out advice for retailers on how to provide the best possible evidence for police to pursue in any case, including CCTV footage of the whole incident and an image of the shoplifter.

Live facial recognition technology has also been used successfully, including at last month’s Arsenal v Tottenham north London Derby, where police caught three wanted suspects, including one for sexual offences. Another wanted sex offender was identified at the King’s Coronation and sent back to prison the same day.

To ensure transparency with the public, the police will put up notices in areas where they will be using live facial recognition. If the system does not make a match against a watch list, a person’s data is deleted immediately and automatically. Anyone caught with the help of facial recognition and then charged, would still face trial in the normal way.

The accuracy of facial recognition technology has developed rapidly. An independent study by the National Physical Laboratory of the algorithm the Met and South Wales Police use, found that the technology was 100% accurate when used on still images and only 1 in 6,000 false alerts when used on live images. The police have not had any false alerts this year over 25 deployments.  The study also found no statistically significant differences in the performance based on gender or ethnicity at the settings the police use.

Facial recognition use is strictly governed by data protection, equality, and human rights laws, and can only be used for a policing purpose where it is necessary and proportionate. The College of Policing also sets clear guidance on when officers can use live facial recognition and requires that a person’s data is automatically deleted if the system does not match it to the watchlist of suspects.

The government has invested in and continues to build on a tool which uses AI to help officers to identify and grade child sexual abuse material more quickly. It highlights images of interest for officers to focus on to aid investigations, enabling them to more rapidly identify and safeguard children, as well as identify offenders. It also supports the improvement of police office welfare, as they reduce officers’ prolonged exposure to indecent images. This is in addition to other tools already in use, for example facial matching technology, and others in development which will use AI to safeguard children and identify perpetrators more quickly.

The government is also supporting industry innovation to tackle the threat from AI generated child sexual abuse images, recognising that criminals are also exploiting the technology. Last month, the UK and US issued a joint statement in which they committed to working together to explore the development of new solutions to fight the spread of AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery.

The Home Secretary is also convening an event on Monday which will bring together government, law enforcement and the tech industry to discuss how best to tackle child sexual abuse images which have been created using AI.

It comes as the government, whilst recognising the significant benefits of AI, is taking a leading role in ensuring we are researching and investing in appropriate safety measures. The UK is hosting the first ever major global AI Safety Summit next week at Bletchley Park, supported by the Frontier AI Taskforce which was created with £100m of initial funding to spearhead the country’s leadership in this area.

Robust laws to fight fraud, counter corruption and bolster legitimate business received Royal Assent today.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act introduces world-leading powers which will allow UK authorities to proactively target organised criminals and others seeking to abuse the UK’s open economy.

Companies House will receive enhanced abilities to verify the identities of company directors, remove fraudulent organisations from the company register and share information with criminal investigation agencies

Law enforcement agencies will benefit from greater powers to seize, freeze and recover cryptoassets, while groundbreaking legal reforms will allow the courts to dismiss spurious lawsuits which seek to stifle freedom of speech. Prosecutors will be better able to hold large corporations accountable for malpractice.

These changes will level the playing field for all businesses, ensuring the UK’s open economy remains a world class centre for businesses to grow and prosper.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:

I am committed to ensuring criminals do not profit from their offending and this landmark act will help law enforcement clampdown on the tactics they use.

It will have a big impact on our ability to fight organised crime, including terrorist funding, fraud and money laundering, and that will ultimately help keep us all safe.

Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said:

We’re providing Companies House with the tools to take a much harder line on criminals who take advantage of the UK’s open economy, ensuring the reputation of our businesses is not tarnished by the UK playing host to the world’s scammers.

These reforms will remove the smoke and mirrors around companies hiding behind false identities, provide further protection to the public from companies fraudulently using their addresses, and deliver better data to support business and lending decisions across the economy, enhancing the UK’s reputation as a great and safe place to do business.

Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk said:

We will not stand by while wealthy individuals abuse our courts with malicious lawsuits designed to gag reporters exposing their misconduct.

This act reinforces our unwavering commitment to protect freedom of speech, and end the brazen exploitation of our legal system by corrupt elites.

The powers given to Companies House form the biggest shakeup to the service in its 180-year history.

Once the powers come into force, the agency will take immediate steps to improve the quality of information on the company register.

Invalid registered office addresses, such as those used fraudulently to set up companies, will be removed.

Verification checks will assess the identities of people setting up and managing companies, stopping criminals hiding behind false names or registering companies with fictional characters. This will help prevent fraudulent appointments and avoid people involved in money laundering hiding behind false names.

Changes to public beneficial ownership registers will also close loopholes that allow corrupt actors to use opaque companies to move and hide money.

It will additionally provide businesses with greater clarity on who they are working with, while allowing civil society organisations to expose corrupt actors, and for the public to increase their trust in governments.

Tackling illicit finance is a global issue with 30 other countries, including Nigeria and France, having public registers of beneficial ownership. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are also implementing their own commitments.

Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, United Nations and the Commonwealth said:

Tackling illicit finance requires global cooperation and the UK will continue to work with our international partners to strengthen their registers of beneficial ownership, to reduce money laundering, create a level playing field for businesses and bolster national security.

Companies House Chief Executive Louise Smyth said:

These new powers are without doubt the most significant change for Companies House in our long history.

We have known for some time that UK companies have been misused by criminals to commit fraud, money laundering, and other forms of economic crime and our thoughts have always been with those affected.

We will now play a much greater role in preventing further abuse of the register. We will be taking unprecedented steps to crack down on fraudulent activities, help victims quicker and clean up the register by removing information we know to be incorrect.

This will underpin our efforts to improve the quality and reliability of our data, which will in turn hugely increase the value of the register for businesses across the UK and beyond.

The act will additionally give judges new powers to deal with strategic lawsuits against public protection, known as SLAPPS, involving economic crime.

These are court cases used by the powerful individuals to intimidate opponents. Russian oligarchs seeking to prevent public interest journalism are prominent users of such suits.

Major reforms to corporate criminal liability will also provide prosecutors with game changing powers to hold companies criminally liable for malpractice.

The creation of a criminal offence, called ‘failure to prevent fraud’, will hold a large organisation criminally liable if it benefits from a fraud that is committed by a member of staff.

An update to a legal principle known as the ‘identification doctrine’ will also ensure businesses can be held criminally liable for the actions of their senior managers who commit an economic crime.

Both changes remove the ability for a large company to hide behind complex management structures to evade scrutiny. This ensures a level playing field for all businesses and will help remove criminal money from the economy.

Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, Andrew Penhale, said:

Economic crime can have a devastating impact on individuals, businesses, and our economy.

The CPS is supportive of all reforms which helps to improve transparency and drive better corporate behaviours.

The introduction of a failure to prevent fraud offence and reform of the identification doctrine will better enable prosecutors to hold large companies to account for offences committed under their watch. It should result in greater care to prevent fraud before it happens.

Nick Ephgrave, Director of the Serious Fraud Office, said:

This is the most significant boost to the Serious Fraud Office’s ability to investigate and prosecute serious economic crime in over 10 years.

This new law will help prevent crime, as big businesses can no longer turn a blind eye to fraud.

We welcome the expansion of our search powers, which will help speed up our investigations.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) will additionally gain greater powers which compel businesses to hand over information which is suspected to be used for money laundering or terrorist financing.

Unnecessary reporting by businesses will also be reduced, enabling the private sector and law enforcement to focus their existing resources on tackling high value and priority activity.

New powers will additionally allow law enforcement to target illicit cryptoassets. The NCA’s National Assessment Centre estimates that over £1 billion of illicit cash was transferred overseas using cryptoassets in 2021.

The act has introduced provisions for police and the NCA to seize cryptoassets more easily and convert them into money before a forfeiture hearing has taken place. In exceptional circumstances, there will also be a power to destroy seized cryptocurrency.

Graeme Biggar, Director General of the National Crime Agency said:

This act is long awaited and welcome. For too long criminals and corrupt elites have abused UK company structures to launder their illicit wealth; the new powers given to Companies House will help us tackle those who abuse our economy.

This act also gives the NCA and police greater powers to seize and recover cryptocurrencies, and we welcome the creation of a criminal offence which holds organisations criminally liable if they fail to prevent fraud by their employees.

These extra patrols, along with hundreds more arrests and stop and searches, were just one part of the government’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, launched 6 months ago.

The latest data shows that since hotspot uniformed patrols have been rolled out in 10 pilot areas, there have been over 250 arrests, over 600 stop and searches and around 1,000 other enforcement actions such as community protection notices and public protection orders.

Through the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, up to £20 million of funding will be invested in 16 pilot areas to trial either hotspot police and enforcement patrols, or a new ‘Immediate Justice’ scheme to bring in swift and visible punishments to perpetrators of antisocial behaviour. Some areas are trialling both schemes.

Thanks to this work, several hotspot trial forces have reported significant declines in antisocial behaviour. The Lancashire Constabulary have reported that in Brunswick, Blackpool, there has been a 36% fall in reported incidents of antisocial behaviour compared to the same period last year when hotspot patrols were not in place.

Staffordshire Police have reported a combined 20% fall in reported incidents of antisocial behaviour across 5 locations in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme compared to the previous year.

It is estimated that at least 150,000 hours of additional individual police and partner hotspot patrols will be delivered by March 2024 across the 10 pilot areas before the initiative is rolled out across every police force in England and Wales later in the year.

Crime and Policing Minister Chris Philp said:

Antisocial behaviour ruins neighbourhoods and brings fear and misery to local people, be it people smoking cannabis in the street, intimidating gatherings in public spaces or acts of vandalism.

We will not tolerate it. I am delighted that our action plan and zero-tolerance approach is beginning to have a positive impact in communities up and down the country.

By giving the police and local partners the tools they need to tackle antisocial behaviour we can help ensure wherever people live they can feel safe and proud of the place they call home.

Today’s announcement coincides with a meeting of the antisocial behaviour taskforce. Jointly led by the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, this will bring together police and crime commissioners, police chiefs and local partners to continue to drive progress on the government‘s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan.

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove said:

The poison of antisocial behaviour stops people from feeling safe in their community and erodes local pride.

That’s why our Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan is a vital part of our mission to level up. As we can see from today’s data, that plan is starting to deliver results – showing victims and communities across the country that thuggish behaviour will never be tolerated.

The meeting will allow those on the ground to give first-hand account of what is working in the fight against antisocial behaviour in their local area community and enable ministers to be sure that those on the front line have the tools they need.

This comes after the government recently announced that possession of nitrous oxide, also known as ‘laughing gas’, will be illegal from 8 November 2023, delivering on the Home Secretary’s pledge to get tougher on flagrant drug taking in local communities and associated antisocial behaviour.

Other measures that have been delivered since the launch of the plan include:

• every police and crime commissioner in England and Wales has been allocated up to £1 million as part of the Safer Streets Fund to cover the period from 1 October 2023 to 31 March 2025, to run local projects to combat antisocial behaviour, acquisitive crime and violence against women and girls
• additional funding of up to £2.5 million has been put in place for transport safety officers to make public transport safer, including specially-trained staff to deal with low-level nuisance and disorder
• punishment for those who graffiti, litter or fly tip has been increased with fines of up to £500 and £1,000
• an extra one million hours of youth services has been provided for areas with the highest rates of antisocial behaviour to put people on the right track and prevent them from offending in the first place

In the coming months we will launch the Anti-Social Behaviour One-Stop Shop where people can report antisocial behaviour to the right local responders and get feedback on the response. This will also enable local agencies to share information on perpetrators of antisocial behaviour within communities, identify repeat offenders and take necessary action. This tool will ensure that members of the public can find local services that are best placed to act on their reports of antisocial behaviour and to build confidence that reports will be taken seriously and addressed.

Further action also being taken over the coming months includes:

• more powers being put in place for landlords and housing associations to evict unruly tenants who ruin their neighbours’ lives through antisocial behaviour
• parks and green spaces being restored with up to £5 million to make them safer with new CCTV and repairing equipment and playgrounds, and to plant more trees and flowers
• work underway to bring forward legislation to repeal the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824, with a package of new measures to better equip the police and local authorities to respond to nuisance begging and rough sleeping which can be harmful to individuals themselves and to the wider public

Rebecca Bryant OBE, Chief Executive of Resolve said:

We know from our own research that many victims and witnesses don’t report antisocial behaviour, but they’d be more likely to report behaviour if there was a more visible police and agency presence.

This ‘hotspot’ approach makes the best use of limited resources, and we very much look forward to seeing it rolled out across the country.

Case study 1: Lancashire Constabulary

This year, hotspot patrols in Brunswick, Blackpool by Lancashire Constabulary during July, August and September have seen police working with local partners to tackle antisocial behaviour including begging, sex working and threatening behaviour. The increased presence of officers on the street has seen reports of incidents antisocial behaviour decline by 36.6% compared to the same period last year.

Case study 2: Staffordshire Police

This year, hotspot policing by Staffordshire Police during July, August, and September in 5 hotspot areas in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme has seen a combined decline in reported incidents of antisocial behaviour of 20% by members of the public compared to the same period last year.

In Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre, additional police patrols were put in place to combat drug and alcohol related antisocial behaviour. After identifying areas where drug paraphernalia was being discarded, follow-up work with partner agencies by the police took place to clean up the area alongside high visibility patrols to provide reassurance to the local community and deter drug users.

After dispersing groups of young people, a quantity of drugs, including monkey dust and cannabis, was seized alongside several knives.

Case study 3: Essex Police

Over 2,757 hours of police patrols and 1,400 hours of Community Safety Partnership patrols have now been delivered in 11 antisocial behaviour hotspots across Essex. As a result, there has been:

• 35 arrests
• 109 stop and searches
• 58 informal warnings issued
• 45 fixed penalty notices issued

In one pilot area, Debden, police and Community Safety Partnership teams have worked collaboratively to use a public space protection order (PSPO) to tackle a high volume of antisocial behaviour incidents relating to drug taking, nuisance noise, aggressive begging, intimidation and fighting. This work has made a difference to local business owners and the public who praised the positive proactive work of the team.

Case study 4: Sussex Police

In Sussex, a man was caught graffiti tagging on an industrial estate, damaging property and causing a negative effect on surrounding businesses, staff and members of public passing through the area.

The individual was referred by officers into the ‘Immediate Justice’ scheme and he was required to carry out reparative work within Brighton’s city centre, including litter picking and weeding public planters in an area known for ASB incidents.

The terms of a review looking at whether existing legislation on police use of force and driving provides sufficient protections for those in the line of duty, and maintains public confidence in policing, have been published today (24 October 2023).

The review, which was requested by the Home Secretary and will be coordinated by the Home Office, is expected to provide findings to Suella Braverman by the end of the year.

The first part of the review will assess whether the existing legal and regulatory framework that underpins police use of force and police driving offers the right protections to the police, particularly firearms officers. It will also examine if these frameworks are sufficient to maintain the public’s confidence in policing, particularly communities and families impacted by police actions.

The review will also consider the systems for investigating police officers, including referrals to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, especially in incidents where members of the public have been killed or injured, and whether cases involving those acting in the line of duty should be treated differently from other cases.

The timeliness of investigations and legal processes will also be looked into, including whether more effective working between the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the Crown Prosecution Service can reduce timescales of criminal investigations and whether there are options to reduce any duplications in criminal, coronial and misconduct processes.

Finally, the review will examine whether improvements need to be made to officer suspension and anonymity. This will look at communications following an incident and ask if they strike the right balance between providing clarity to officers and reassuring members of the public.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:

We depend on our brave police officers to put themselves in harm’s way in order to keep us safe.

It is one of the toughest jobs, relying on officers to make life or death decisions in a split second and we should never take it for granted.

It is why I requested this review to ensure the legal frameworks under which the police operate command the confidence of both officers and members of the public.

The Home Office will work with the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s Office on this review and is clear that it will not impinge on the operational independence of the police and other relevant bodies in the criminal justice system. The review will also not consider ongoing investigations or live legal proceedings.

Government, law enforcement, academics, survivors, charities and industry, came together today (23 October) to discuss the horrible nature of acid attacks and consider what more can be done to protect our society.

The meeting, jointly chaired by the Safeguarding Minister, Sarah Dines, and Katie Piper OBE, was an opportunity for government, policing, trading standards, charities, retailers and the delivery sector to discuss the action to date in preventing and tackling corrosive attacks and what more can be done to clamp down on these horrendous acts of violence which devastate lives.

Government action to tackle the use of acid and other corrosives in violent attacks is based on four key strands: strong policing, effective legislation, providing support for victims and survivors, and working with retailers to restrict access to acids and other harmful corrosive products.

Minister for Safeguarding, Sarah Dines, said:

Acid attacks devastate lives and leave victims with both emotional and physical scars and our thoughts remain with all the survivors and their families.

The government is committed to doing all we can to prevent acid and other corrosive substances being used as weapons, and to ensure strong punishments for those who do so.  We have already introduced the measures within the Offensive Weapons Act which makes it an offence to carry these substances in public, to ensure the cowards who use acids as weapons face the full force of the law, and also ban the sale of acid and other corrosives to under-18s and the delivery of such substances to residential premises and lockers to restrict the availability and prevent their misuse.

We know that legislation alone will not prevent attacks, which is why conversations such as today’s are so important.  I thank those who participated, especially, Katie Piper, Andreas Christopheros and the other survivors who are so brave and courageous.

The round table brought together the many structures both inside and outside of government aimed at protecting the public from such attacks to discuss, retailers’ statutory obligations, including around age verification, and to ensure they have all the necessary tools to effectively enforce these measures.

The meeting also explored ideas about what more can be done to reduce the risk of corrosive products being misused as weapons, whether retailers are taking this seriously enough and if more can be done by staff to question the use at the time of purchase.

Katie Piper and Andreas Christopheros previously met with the Home Secretary on 12 December 2022 to discuss their concerns and ideas, which has led to today’s event.

Katie Piper, philanthropist and broadcaster, said:

Today was about progress, prevention and proactive conversation.

Over the past couple of years I have worked tirelessly to keep this topic on the government agenda.

This is a very serious issue and statistics show violent crime using acid is increasing at an alarming and disturbing rate.

Reducing accessibility and the sale of corrosive substances is absolutely crucial to reducing acid attacks, and the resulting horrendous impact it has on victims.

Retailers, associations and delivery gateways all have a colossal duty and responsibility to help us in our aims.

I remain absolutely determined in my mission for change – today for accessibility, but tomorrow also for sentencing, legislation, funding and increased regulation.

Andreas Christopheros, acid attack survivor and campaigner, said:

Surviving and living through the wake of an acid attack is a challenge like no other. Survivors are left broken physically, emotionally, and financially and many will carry these struggles for the rest of their lives.

It’s promising that the government has engaged in our campaign for change,  however, more needs to happen. We must keep pushing for a better future for survivors of these horrific crimes.

National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Corrosive Attacks, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Alexis Boon, said:

The use of corrosive substances to commit acts of violence devastates lives and causes physical and psychological damage to victims that can last a lifetime.

We are committed to working with the public and partners to tackle this appalling crime and welcome efforts made in recent years to help, including changes to legislation brought about by the Offensive Weapons Act 2019, that restrict sale, possession, and delivery of corrosive substances. Reflecting corrosive substances in UK legislation for the first time, rightly demonstrates how serious such offences are.

Today’s meeting with key partners was extremely constructive and indicates a real joint commitment to tackling this crime. Many corrosive substances are available over the counter at supermarkets and DIY stores, including for example bleach and drain cleaners. It is important that law enforcement and government work closely with retailers themselves, to enhance our intelligence picture, and determine the best ways to keep these products from falling into the hands of people who intend to use them to cause harm.

Serious crimes such as this should not go unreported. I would urge anyone who is a victim of this type of attack to report it to the police, so that it can dealt with positively and sensitively.